Northwestern Univ. Also In Talks About Playing
Regular Season Football Game At Ballpark

Big Ten officials "have met with Yankee Stadium representatives to discuss a bowl game that would be played" at the stadium, according to Teddy Greenstein of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Big Ten Associate Commissioner Mark Rudner "cautioned that any bowl game at Yankee Stadium would not occur during the four-year cycle that will begin after the 2010 regular season." The NCAA has "yet to certify Yankee Stadium, and the Big Ten is already far along in negotiations with other bowls." But Yankee Stadium officials "made a solid case with athletic directors during spring meetings," and one scenario "would have a Big Ten team face a Big East opponent." Greenstein notes Northwestern Univ. also is talking to Yankee Stadium officials about "playing a regular-season game" at the ballpark. Northwestern AD Jim Phillips said that it is "something the school will 'actively pursue.'" Yankees manager Joe Girardi is a Northwestern alum and Yankees Chair George Steinbrenner worked as an assistant coach at the school in '55, and Phillips said that both have been "involved in the discussions." But Phillips' "top priority remains creating a regular-season game at Wrigley Field in either November 2010 (vs. Iowa or Illinois) or November 2011 (vs. Michigan or Rice)." Phillips said that he "envisions the Yankee Stadium game taking place a year after the game at Wrigley Field" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/2).
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UA's $378M Sports Facility Upgrade Includes
A New Building In Arizona Stadium's End Zone

Univ. of Arizona (UA) officials yesterday said that the athletic department aims to spend $378M over the next 20 years or so to "upgrade its sports facilities," according to Patrick Finley of the ARIZONA DAILY STAR. The "most comprehensive plan in department history covers 12 major projects," with the "most prominent" being the construction of a building in Arizona Stadium's north end zone and a McKale Center upgrade. UA AD Jim Livengood said that the cost of the projects "will be paid for solely with private funds and is pending approval from the Arizona Board of Regents in either December or January." Livengood "wouldn't reveal how much money he had raised for the project but said it was 'accurate' that the 18-month-old plan would not have come this far without assurances from donors." Livengood "outlined the plans, with the first step being" the $82M Arizona Stadium project, which "could begin after the 2010 football season and be completed two to three years later." The "centerpiece will be the construction of a four-story, mostly glass building in the area now occupied by aluminum bleachers in the north end zone." The structure "would have about 5,000 premium seats, replacing aluminum bleachers." The proposed building "would house football offices, locker rooms and a public concourse." A new video board "would be located in the south end zone." Livengood said that naming-rights to the end-zone building and the stadium itself "will be available" (ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 9/2). Livengood said of the project, "If you look at it in its entirety, it's going to scare some people. It's massive." But he added, "If we don't do this now, nobody's going to call a timeout and say, 'Let's wait until Arizona can do this.' It needs to be done now" (ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 9/2).
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